Pipe joint



' H. C. BATES PIPEJOINT April 28, 1936.

' Filed June 7, 1934 1e 2 I I 26 l5 I I BY W ATTORNEYS. I

Patented Apr. 28, 1936 PIPE JOINT Harry Clifiord Bates, Corning, N. Y., assignor to Corning Glass Works, Corning, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 7, 1934, Serial No. 729,490

1 Claim.

This invention relates to pipe joints and more particularly to couplings for glass lines.

Due to its transparency, resistance to corrosion, and its smooth surfaces, glass pipe is susceptible 5 to use in widely divergent fields. For instance, it is known that metal pipes become coated with mineral deposits which after a time become so thick that the capacity of a metal pipe line is greatly reduced and as a consequence its utility is impaired. Moreover, metal pipes do not possess the resistance to chemical attack nor the transparency which is characteristic of glass piping. The major dificulty encountered in using glass piping, however, is the coupling of the lengths together for, where it is a relatively simple matter to cut threads on the ends of metal pipes, such a procedure is practically impossible when the pipe is composed of glass. As a result glass pipe has not found wide acceptance in the industries and m elsewhere and consequently the many advantages incident to the use of glass pipe have not been heretofore available.

Pipe couplings of many types have been sug gested but have been found unsuitable when ap- 25 plied to glass pipes as they usually tended to produce unequal strains in the glass with the result that breakage would occur.

The object of the present invention is a pipe coupling which will effectively prevent leakage 3G) and at the same time will avoid introducing strains in or otherwise injuring a glass pipe which would cause breakage.

The above and other objects may be accomplished by employing my invention, which em- 35 bodies among its features a gasket comprising a core of slightly flexible material which is covered with a cushioning substance which in turn is im= prcgnated with a suitable substance which will resist the passage of liquid therethrough without 1 injuring a glass surface.

In the drawing: Fig. l is a plan view of a pipe coupling constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view partly in section of Fig. 1; as Fig. 3 is a plan view of the gasket which it employ, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken entire line il-t of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing in detail, a length of 5 glass pipe ill is provided at one end with a hub it into which is loosely fitted the adjacent end of a length of glass pipe if. A coupling flange it surrounds the hub l l and is provided with an inwardly extending flange it for engagement with 55 a cushion is which rests against the shoulder formed at the junction of the pipe Ill and hub ii. The coupling flange i3 is pierced at intervals with openings, it for the reception of clamping bolts ii and the inner face it of the coupling flange l3 tapers inwardly toward the flange as clearly shown 5 in Fig. 2. Surrounding the pipe l2 near the end which enters the hub H, is a coupling flange it which, like the flange it, is pierced at spaced intervals to receive the bolts ii, and threaded on the ends of the bolts are thumb screws 20 by means of which the flanges it and It may be advanced toward one another. The inner face it of the flange i 9 is inclined in a direction opposite the inclination of the face it to'form in conjunction therewlth a chamber for the reception of w my improved gasket 22, which will be more fully hereinafter described.

The gasket 22, above referred to, comprises an annular core 23 of a slightly flexible material, such as lead or rubber, the exterior of which tapers from a toric portion 26 toward opposite ends to form inclined or wedge shaped faces and 2b which are substantially parallel to the tapered faces is and it when the gasket is in position between the flanges l3 and it. As shown in Figs.

2 and 4, the inner face fill of the core lies concentric about its axis and terminates in a tapered position 28, which merges into a face it whichv is concentric with the face it but of lesser diam eter, thus forming a substantially frustro conical 0 hollow body from the base of which projects an inwardly extending flange 3t of lesser thickness than the body 23. The core thus formed is covered with a suitable cushion 3i which, in the present instance, consists of an asbestos string impregnated with graphite which is wound about the core 23 as illustrated. Such gaskets have proven satisfactory when employed in contact with chemical substances, such as ammonia and zinc chloride, at pressures of from seventy pounds per square inch up to pressures of one-hundredtwenty pounds per square inch and at temperatures up to 150 F., it being understood that suitable longitudinal tieing devices (not shown) are necessary to prevent endwise slippage and separation of the joints when such pressures are em-- ployed.

In use, the coupling flanges it and iii are assembled on the pipe sections it and i2 and around the gasket 22, as shown, with the inner face El of the gasket 22 adjacent the exterior of the hub l l and the interior face 29 of the gasket adjacent the exterior of the pipe 02. Upon turning the thumb screws 2@, the flanges it and 19 will be advanced toward one another. thus transmitting as a pressure on the tapered faces 25 and 26 of the gasket to cause the latter to be compressed tightly against the pipe and eflectively seal the junction. By reason of the relatively loose flt of the vpipe I 2 within the huh I l and the slight flexibility of the core 23 of the gasket 22, it is obvious that a flexible coupling of the pipes is obtained, which will readily accommodate itself to slight misalignment and expansion or construction without introducing leakage at the joint or excessive strain in the glass parts.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as claimed.

What I claim is: I

The combination with a length of pipe having a hub at one end and a length of pipe having one end entering the hub of a coupling which comprises an annular body having a tapered outer face surrounding the hub, an inwardly inclined flange on the body the inner and outer walls of which incline in substantially the same degree with relation to the axis of the body as the outer face of the body tapers but in a direction opposite the taper of the body, an annular concentric wall at the ends of and extending between the inner and outer faces of the flange for contacting with the pipe which enters the hub and means for compressing the body into tight contact with the hub and the concentric wall of'the flange into tight contact with the pipe which enters the hub.

, H. CLIFFORD BATES. 

